One Giant Leap
by TheAce-FanBoy
Summary: The HAT-3 rocket blasts through space, on it's way to it's destination, as the astronaut inside tries to overcome a most ironic fear. (Set after Dual Destinies).


_Writer's notes: This is just a short story I wrote on the fly, that's set after Dual Destinies. It's not amazing and its not supposed to be perfect, but, it's just a short thing I decided to write._

* * *

"I'll be fine..." came the cracked voice, which was pierced through the small amounts of oxygen that Solomon Starbuck to spare. He couldn't see outside the shuttle but he knew that right now, he was in the darkness of space. The internal silence, where no one would come to his and his companion's rescue, should something go wrong, the very place where the spy know as The Phantom almost made his graveyard 7 years back.

But here he was, in that very same place again...in a lot of ways he couldn't believe it, but he knew that this was the only way he could pierce through his fears that the HAT-1 incident hat caused, and get back into space. After all, the only way to get into space again, was to just go ahead a do it. He couldn't abandon his dream, just because of some silly anxiety issue. ...Even if right now, he was utterly terrified.

Although, thanks to those three lawyers he was able to push through and get back into space, and he indeed was there in space, in a shuttle that had a few hours back detached itself from the main rocket. He couldn't think about his anxiety now however, not when there was so much to prepare and check before the touchdown. Him and his companion, both in full space suits, gave out static commands before eventually everything was finished and prepared. All he had to do now, was to await the command...that one command that would force him into the very place that he had been running from for all those years. The place he was so scared of facing, but also so excited to face also.

"Everything is a-okay. Ready when you are." Came the voice from mission command, over the radio communications system. Turning to the one other human being who was their to help him, Starbuck nodded and got a nod back in return...then the door to the shuttle slowly slid open, laying the barren plain of the moon before his eyes. The place he had been sent to gather more samples of Moon Rock, after the old pieces were blown to bits.

For a brief moment, Starbuck was frozen into place at the sight. It all came flooding back to his mind, everything about the beauty of space, about the wonder's of the universe. He was right here, on a extraterritorial body of rook, somewhere that only a handful of living creatures had ever been. Man's final frontier. ...He couldn't think of anything else. All he could think about, was how glad he was that he finally got the courage to pull through...and how thankful he was to the three lawyers, who made it happen.

* * *

Back on Earth, a rather big and bulky television set sat in the middle of a Agency, as though it had been dragged out of a loft. Seated on a sofa while staring at the screen with interest were four people, all of whom had large smiles on their faces.

"Oh, it's happening! They finally touched down!" Athena stated, clasping her hands together. Next to her, the young Trucy held a bowl of popcorn, which she stuck her hand into and picked some of the popcorn from, nonchalantly.

"Hey, get your own popcorn!"

Apollo sat at the end of the sofa, his eyes glued to the screen. He had more then a few worries about this trip to the Moon that Mr. Starbuck was embarking on...mainly emotional worries. He was afraid that the guy wouldn't make it, emotionally, and breakdown, but in the end it looks like he made it to his destination...it looks like he managed to conquer is fears an go back to that big lump of rook once again.

Apollo knew that he was partly to thank for this, but he didn't want to be branded as the one who brought the astronaut extraordinare back into space. It was all Mr. Starbuck. He was the one who broke out of his fearful mind, stood up to it, and stepped back once again in space.

_...I wish Clay was here to see this. _

While the two females next to him playfully argued, the red-suited attorney looked out of the window to his left, staring out at the night sky. It WAS amazing to think that there's a entire universe out there, that's even bigger then he could imagine. Planets to explore, new life forms to possibly find...he couldn't even begin to imagine what laid in wait at the fair reaches of existence itself. These were, of course, all things that he wondered at as a child, when he used to visit the Cosmos Space Centre with Clay.

...Of course, that was back when Clay was still on this Earth...when he still had the hopes and dreams of going into space...which just recently, were cruelly taken out of his grasp. Someone with a dream, a hope to someday be able to become a part of the wonders of space exploration.

Continuing to stare out at the sky outside, he was suddenly caught of guard when the extremely covered up voice of Starbuck came from the T.V.

"These first few *STATIC* are for Clay."

Apollo couldn't help but let out a small smile at this comment, both because of the sentimental and also because he was surprised Mission Command let him say that. He knew that 'recorded' words during a mission were usually scripted...It seems as though Clay was missed by more then just he and Starbuck.

Watching on the screen, they saw Starbuck's companion exist the shuttle which was closely followed by Starbuck himself...and as soon as his feet hit the rook surface of that planet surface, Apollo could feel his entire body relaxing. That was it...that one step onto the surface most likely broke the spell placed on Starbuck, the spell that was holding him back all this time.

With the Agency in a silence, all eyes glued to what was going on, live on the Moon surface, Apollo gave out a heavy sigh of relief.

"...One small step for man. One giant leap for Mr. Starbuck."


End file.
